Gas water heater



Sept. 22, 1931.

GAS WATER HEATER Original Filed Nov. 24, 1924 2 Sheets-sheet 1 FIG I.

v MAUCK 1,824,357-

Sept. 22, 1931. V v. MAQCK 1,824,357

GAS WATER HEATER Original Filed Nov. 24. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet, 2

FJGE.

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Patented Sept. 22, 1931 T- D STATES orrice vIc'roR-MAuox, or \MERIONI," riiivivsYLvamA i wanna HEATER Original applicationfiled November 24,1924; Serial 110, 52,037. Divided and this application filed November 22,1927.

a This is a divisionof my: applicationtSerial No. 752,037 filed November 24,1924, wherein thermostatically controlled heaters, such as herein disclosed, are disclosed and novel features of construction and arrangement of .the combustion chamber and its appurtenances are claimed.

My invention herein claimed relates to the burner and cooperative features of'construction and arrangement of such a heater adapted to be included in a house water supply system and comprising. a container which is a hot water reservoir, and means constructed and arranged to automatically regulate and maintaina predetermined temperature of the water stored in sa d reservoir, with the minimum consumption of gas.

The purposeaiid elfect ofmy'invention herein claimed is to provide a burner which may be secluded from the atmosphere in the heater structureand isyet adaptedto be readily removed, in slip connection with a gas supply conduit. extendinglrorizontally in the burner casing; to permit cleaning the minute jet orifices of the; burnerand the surface of the water container immediately above the burner which become incrusted with products of combustion which are non conductive of heat. v Q 1 The form of heater hereinafter described includes the combinationwithsuoh a water reservoir, having a combustion chamber at the bottom thereof; of a burner in that chamber arranged to heatthewater in said reservoir; an automatically, thermostatically,

operative valve. controlling a gas conduit leading to said burner; whereby said burner is continually supplied with gas, but in a volume which is automatically varied in accordance with the temperature of the water in said reservoir; a needle valve between said conduit and said burner, whereby the 110w of gas to said burner may be adjustably varied independently of said thermostatically controlled valve a heat insulatin covering for said container and combustion chamber, including a heat insulating closure for the bottom of said chamber; and means for remova-bly securing said closure; where by said chamber is substantially secluded QIII, III in Fig.

with, but eccentric to, the axis of Serial No. 235,025.

from the outer atmosphere; and the normally ininute flames at the'burner thus protected from any1drafts which would extinguish them if exposed in an ordinary combustion herein set forth, V a i In Sitld drawings; Fig. I is aplan view, of a gas water heater conveniently embodying my invention.

Fig II isan iiiverted plan view ofisaid I heater.

Fig. fragmentary verticalsectional view of said'heater, taken on the line Fig. IV is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of. said burner andits appurtenances,

including said needle valve.

jig. V isa right hand "side elevation of the gas conduit and thermostatically operative valve, asshown in Fig. III.

Fig. VI is a detached view of the water spreader shown in ig. III. I In said figuresithe water reservoir container comprises the cylindrical metal shell 1, having the cold water inlet 2 and thehot wateroutleftB "at the top thereof, and the combustion chamber 5a't the bottom thereof.

The diaphragm 6 forms the bottom closure of the water space '7 in said containerl, and

the top of said combustion chamber. The flue 10 has its lower end connected with said diaphragm 6, and extends to the outeratmo'spliere, through said watericontainer, parallel said container shelll,

The hollow oblate water spreader 11 is mounted in eccentric relation with said diaphragm 6 and extending below the. latter in said combustion chamber; having at its upper portion, in coaxial relation, an externally} screw threadedneck flange 13 extehding'in a corresponding opening su rounded by the flange 14 in said diaphragm 6. Said spreader has, in coaxial relation therewith, but eccentric to said coii'tainer, the socket 113, engaged with the lower end of the hot water riser pipe 16 which terminates in spaced relation with the top of said container shell 1. Said spreader also has two diametrically spaced cold water inlet nozzles 17, at respectively opposite sides of said socket 15 and in communication with the water space 7 through said spreader neck 13. V

The water drain pipe 18 extends from the bottom of said spreader 11 to the exterior of said combustion chamber 5 where it is provided with the drain cook 19, through which sediment may be withdrawn from said spreader. The collar 20 encir- -cles said drain pipe 18, andis providediwith the set screw 21 to secure it in ad usted position. The gas burner includes the hollow horseshoe shaped body 23,:1av1ngthe radially extending crossbars 24: forming axial bearings 25 embracing said drain pipe 18 and resting upon said'collar 20. The mixing tube 26 extends from. said burner body '23 in eccentric tangential relation thereto but in diametrical relation with said container 1 and combustion chamber 5, as best shown in Fig. II, and is slip fitted over the gas supply tube 27. The arrangement is such that said burner may be'readily withdrawn and replaced laterally with respect to said pipe 18 and collar 20 which support it. As shown in Figs. III and IV; said mixing tube 26 is enlarged at its outer end and provided with the restricted air inlet 28 at the bottom thereof.

As shown in Figs. II, III and V; the gas conduit 30 leading to said burner 23 has the automatically, thermostatically, operative valve 31, arranged to control it in accordance with the expansion and contract-ion of a thermostatic element in the tube 32,.which is rigidly connected with said valve} Although any suitable form of said valve 31 may be employed; that indicated is a specific form disclosed and claimed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,542,573 granted to Arthur E. Paige, J une. 16, 1925. Said tube 32 extends diametrically in the water space 7 in said container shell 1, be-

tween said fiue 10 and hot water riserpipe 16, and said valve 31 and tube 32 are detachably connected with said container shell 1 by the screw thread on the valve casing engaging the spud 33 in said shell.

I also find it convenient to provide said gas supply conduit 30 with the manually operative stop cock 3 1, leading to said conduit 27, betweensaid automatic valve 31 and said burner 23; and also to provide the manually operative needle valve 35 in said conduit 27 between said stop cock" as and said burner 23 in cooperative relation with an inlet port in the nozzle 36 which is detachably connected with said conduit 27, in

coaxial relation with said mixing tube 26.

It is to be understood that said stop cock 34 may be manually opened or closed, to

either permit or prevent the passage of gas through said automatically, thermostatically, controlled valve 31. The function of said valve 31 is to limit the minimum flow of gas to the burner 23, and vary the flow in accordance with the temperature of the Water in the container 1, so as to normally maintain the water in the reservoir space 7 at a predetemined temperature for which said valve 31 iscalibrated. At that temperature, thegas supplied to said burner is onlysufficient to maintain extremely minute flames thereat; so that such flames are normally'v less, than one eighth inch. high and, consequently, very feeble and easily xtinguishable by even a feeble draft upon them.

-F.; as distinguished from heaters which have a minimum storage capacity and depend for their efiiciency' upon rapid heating of a mimimum quantity of water upon de mand. Therefore, it is important to conserve all of the heat generated by combustion of the gas ZIlL'SiLlCl burner 23, so'as to minimize the quantity required. Therefore, I provide the heat insulating casing for said container and combustion chamber, and including the exterior shell 38, in concentric spaced relation with saidcontainer shell 1, and a refractory porous lining 39 for the same, which may be conveniently formed of involutely Vwrapped, primary plane, sheets of corrugated asbestos paper, which form a cylinder filling the space between said concentric cylindrical shells 1 and 38, as indicated in Fig. III. Said heat insulating casing includes the me tallic top cover 40 having the refractory llning 11 which may be conveniently formed of the same material as the lining 39. Said casing shell 38 is also provided with the base cover 42 having the opening 43 in coaxial relation with said water container shell 1; affording access to the combustion chamber 5 to permit the operator to adjust and clean said burner 23.

However, if the burner. 23 remained thus exposed; a considerable volume and pressure of gas would be required to maintain the burner lighted; whereas, I find that Hie desired temperatureof the stored water can be maintained by the combustion of 'gas'at such a slow rate that it would be impossible to thereby continuously maintain the flames 44 at said burner, ifthe latter were exposed to any air draft. Therefore, I provide a maximum flow of mess-s7 3 hea nsula ing closure for said'ope ge i,

including the annular metal fram containing the l ni g se f pe ous're raetery material, Conveniently such a above .deseribed- Saide os retfiis de aehab y connected with said base 42 by the clip {18, which is tatiQna-ry upon said casing ba e 2, a d the slide eat h s9 Wh 'chis mounted-.toreeipeba e hroug the stat onary bightpon a d asing ver 42, diainetnicallyopposite 0 said clip i Said. base 4l2ihas flanged plates ;52 welded thereon to, detachably'enage the legs 53, by their respective wedge lugs 54 r It may be observed that the construction and arrangement above described are such that the space in said combustion chamber is substantially secluded from the outer atmosphere, by a porous medium excluding all direct air drafts from said flames 445 at the burner 23. The air necessary for combustion is let into' said. chamber 5, only through the, minute, pores of said lining 46 and interstices at the junctions of said closure etawith said outer casing cover L2;

so that the most minute flames 44L may be normally maintained upon said burner 23 in an atmosphere which is undisturbed by any air draft.

Sail. heater mechanism operates as follows: Said catche49 being withdrawn and said bottom closure l5, removed to afford access to the combustion chamber 5; and said needle, valve 35 retracted to determine the gas to the burner 23 through said nozzle 36; thegas islturned Q1 by opening the stop cock 34" to the position shown in Figs. III, IV- and V, and the gas ignited at the outlets in thetop of said burner 23 to. form the flames 4%. The'water being coldand said valve 31 wide open,

said flames are large and strong. Thereupon, said closures?) is replaced and secured as indicated in Fig. III and, by the operation of the thermostatic element 32,

aflected by changes in the temperature of the water in the container chamber 7 the V supply of gas permitted to pass through said supply conduit and the valve 34 and around the valve to said burner 23 is gradually diminished to the minimum, in accordance with the rise of temperature of the water. y

Owing to the oblate form of said'spread'er 11, the hot water rises within it to the top thereof and flows upwardly through the riser 16 into the upper part of said container chamber 7 displacing a corresponding volume of cold water which flows downwardly through said spreader neck 13' and spreader until the desired temperature I thereof is reached and maintained.

nozzles 17 into contact with the hot lower wall of said spreader, thus circulating the water from said container 1 through said ngs hr O c urse, a d va s ep re dby the t rme a i ele nt in he ub 2, to

gradually diminish the volume of gas sup:

.plied. tothebu ner 2 n ee de e with the r se n mpe a u f: t W er in $6 6 ont nuo sly l gh d atz a d bu n r 2 a tho gh a ie in height n c ord nc with h yel m of g s being ee um Whieh,

Co r depe p n t e-ra a which W ter is Wi hd aw from h r se o sp c 7 with consequent hr g h Pipe 2- It may b ob rv d tha t11e tt r-. er ha .e im i e i te y ab v s id th s t e ement 32 s hat he-let 'ter is instantly, affected by inflowi g ld i W e o n taht n y vary h supp y of gaslt s d bu ne 3- In Ord r 0 emev id b rner 3, h ugh sa p ning 4. withe remo al of any he Pipe een e ienait s enly nec ssa y to v lowering of the temperai, .ture thereof by the influx of cold water s ti i h in' is II fa en to release the outer end of the-mixing tube 2 m theses upp y be 7 a d urne may then be partly-turned around said drain pipe 13 and withdraw: from the latter. -l S h moval, is only r nde d re ly possible by thecoordinate location, arrangement, and sl apeof-the" parts shown in Fig.

II, to wit, the pipe'ls is in eccentric rel-atien to the a s of th she l h axis of the mixing tube 26 is in tangential relation.

to the arcuate body 23 of the burner; the gap in the perimeter of the latter is in bl qu e a eh'to e-ax s f said mixing tube; the gasinlet conduit 27- is in dia relat on. to. s id he Althoughl prefer to conserve theheat- -the contalner and combustion chambfir by .f met l members l ned with po s refractory material, as'describemj any suiteh et insula ingmeans may" be employed- It the'ordinary practice to. provide gas W r-hea e s w th su stan i lly la g op nl gh whi h t e ut r atmo p ere may freely communicate with thefspace in 1';

which c mbust n i afie ted; upon th theory that such provision'for large-volumes 9 fleWinga -is es e tia f r h Prop QP QQQ I of algae b rner A ar a am ewelsti f s ntirely nov l and Original with A myself to seclude such aburner in a chamber r m w h the u r. a espher i exeluded asiabcve described,- regardless of whether such seclusion is attained by refractory m n not? Moreover, it is. the usual practice to pr o-' :vide the mixing tubes leading-to gas burners w h a ser es f r le s e ci ling the. gas

inlet; upon-the t e ry ha s 'rangenien is eess ryor; des able to facilitate the mixture of the air with the gas.

However, the volume and rate of flow, and consequent pressure, of gas in my improved heater above described, to maintain the stored water at the predetermined temperature aforesaid,- are so slight thatit'was found in practice that such air inlets permitted a prevented such escape and waste of gas and caused all of the gass passed by the automatically thermostatically controlled valve to b'e delivered through the burner and consumed thereat. Although I have found it convenient to form' said inlet 28 as a slot extending sectorally in said. tube 26; of course, it may be otherwise shaped; the essential feature, being that means are provided to hermetically close the mixing tube around the gas inlet, except for a restricted. air inlet below the gas inlet, and it may be observed that said air inlet is at a greater distance from the jet orifices in the top of the burner than said gasinlet.

Therefore, I do not desire to limit myself to the precise details of construction and arrangement herein set forth, as it is obvious that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the essential eaturesof my invention, as" defined in the appended claims.

I claim: r

1. In a gas water he'ater,the combination with cylindrical-shell having a water container in the upper portion thereof, a combustion chamber in'the lower portion thereof, anda restricted opening in the bottom of said shell in coaxial relation therewith; of a removable closure for said opening; a water drain pipe pending from said containerthrough said combustion chamber and its closure, in eccentric relation with the axis of" said shell; a burner support carried by said water pipe; a gas inlet conduit extending radially through the wall of said shell into'said combustion chamber in tangential relation with said drain pipe; the portion of said gas conduit extending into said combustion chamber being smoothly cylindrical; and a gas burner comprising a horseshoeshaped body having a gap in its perimeter and bearings extending posite sides of said, gap adapted to detachably embrace said pendent pipe and rest upon said support on said pipe, and having a mixing tube projecting from said body and fitted over said gas conduit; the axis of said mixing tube being in tangential relation with said body, and the gap in the perimeter of the latter being in oblique rewith a cylindrical shell having a mixingtube projecting lation to, the axis of said mixing tube; whereby said burner is'stably supported in level position solely by said pipe and gas conduit but isreadily removable therefrom, alone, 'and through said opening, when said closure is removed. r

2.-In a gas water heater, the combination having a water container in the upper portion thereof, a combustion chamber in the lower portion thereof, a restricted opening in the bottom of said shell in coaxial-relation therewith, and a removable closure forsaid opening; of a water pipe pending from said container through said combination chamber and its closure; a burner support carried by said water pipe; a gas inlet conduit extending through the wall of said shell into said combustion chamber in tangential relation with said water pipe; the portion of said gas conduit extending into said combustion chamber being smooth; and a gas burner comprising an arcuate body having a gap in its and bearings extending inwardly perimeter upon opposite sides of said gap, adapted to detachablyembrace said pendent pipe and rest upon said support on said pipe, and

from said body and fitted over said gas-conduit; the axis of said mixing tube being in eccentric relation with said'body, and the gap in the perimeter of the latter being in oblique relation to the axis of said mixing tube; whereby'said burner is stably supported in level position solely bysaid pipe and gas conduit but'is readily removable therefrom, 1

alone, and through closure is removed.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto said opening when said signed my name at Conshohocken, Pennsyl- Vania, thls Seventeenth day of November,

VICTOR MAUCK.

inwardly upon 'op- 

